When Family Comes Knocking
by kaycross1184
Summary: When Hermione receives a note from Theo Nott of all people shortly after the end of the war, she has no idea how much it will turn her world upside down, making her question everything she thought she knew about herself. Rated T for now with the possibility of M rating situations later.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

July 1998

Theodore Nott looked around his father's office, which was now his office, he supposed. In the weeks following the defeat of the Dark Lord, his father and many of the other Death Eaters had been thrown in Azkaban prison awaiting trial with the Wizengamot. Theo thanked Merlin that the Dark Lord wasn't interested in the sons of his followers joining his Death Eater ranks until they had finished school, because that meant that he was not likewise arrested. Only Draco had had the dubious privilege of taking the mark. Like most of the Death Eaters, his father had officially been condemned to life imprisonment yesterday.

That left Theo the head of his household, small as it was being only himself. His mother had died when he was an infant. He had no siblings and no aunts, uncles, or cousins, at least not of the surname Nott, and his grandparents were long deceased. His father was quite a bit older than his mother, and so many of his relations had died already.

Thankfully the Ministry had not seen fit to confiscate all of his family's assets as part of the elder Nott's sentence. Unfortunately, Theo had no knowledge of his family's businesses or property holdings beyond a few generalities. His father either hadn't seen fit to introduce him to the business side of things following the return of the Dark Lord or he hadn't the time, which brought Theo to the office. If he had any hope of learning about his family's resources, it would be here in the office.

He decided to begin with the desk as the most logical place. The surface was covered with numerous papers which, as far as Theo could tell, had no sense of organization to them. He scooped up a stack, cleared a space on the desk, and began sorting them as he read through them. As he went through them, he realized that he held quite extensive lands in neighboring Somerset, and the primary source of income was through the sale of wool and cheeses to both Muggles and Wizards, though they also had shipping interests out of Bristol Port. Theo had to shake his head at that: his father was a Pure-blood supremacist who hated Muggles and yet he still did business with them. Many of the papers were memos from his father's estate manager, Donald Evensby, so now Theo had a contact from whom to learn more.

He finished with the papers on the desktop and then moved to the drawers. The last drawer, however, was locked. Not seeing a key, he tried a simple Alohamora. Nothing happened so he tried progressively stronger unlocking spells, only to meet in failure each time.

He sat back and thought for a few minutes. Perhaps his father had put a blood ward on it. Theo grabbed the letter opener off the desk and drew a cut on his thumb, then pressed it to the drawer. He heard a click. Success!

He opened the drawer to find that its only content was a slim journal. He opened the book to the first page and began to read.

_September 19, 1979_

_Today I did the most heartbreaking thing a mother can do: I left my newborn daughter at a Muggle orphanage to be raised by complete strangers. I did this because I cannot assure her safety with her own father in the house. May the Gods forgive me for not being able to protect my child._

_C. C. Nott_

Stunned at the words he had just read, Theo let the book fall from his hands. The drawer had not been locked by his father. It had been locked by his mother. And somewhere out there, he had a sister.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

August 1998

Hermione Granger stretched lazily as she slowly awoke from a rare restful night's sleep. She didn't often have nightmares of the last year, but they were frequent enough that when she passed a night without one, it made all the difference. Most of her nightmares were of Bellatrix torturing her at Malfoy Manor, although she also dreamed of the times when she would wear the locket and it would whisper insidious thoughts into her mid, as well as of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Aside from the nightmares, she had had an eventful, yet somehow relaxing, summer since the end of the war. After the requisite rounds of celebration parties, funerals, and awards ceremonies, she had gone to Australia to retrieve her parents and restore their memories. Since then she had spent the majority of her time at her parents' house, catching them up on events and just enjoying being their daughter, her only contact with the Wizarding world being the occasional letter from Harry, Ron, or Ginny for the most part.

Now, however, it was the beginning of August, and Hermione was eager to get her owl from Hogwarts so she could go purchase her supplies for school. She had discussed with her parents whether it was necessary to return to school or if she should accept the honorary N.E.W.T.S. from the Ministry of Magic as Harry and Ron had done. In the end, she decided that she wanted to do things the proper way, not receive exemptions. She felt it would be especially important since she wanted to work for the Ministry of Magic after she finished at Hogwarts.

She could smell her mother cooking downstairs and scrambled out of her bed clothes and into her bathroom to freshen up. After having to eat the meager offerings that she, Harry, and Ron could put together while on the run for the last year, she would never take her mother's cooking for granted again.

"Good morning, Mum," Hermione greeted her mother.

"Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well last night?" her mother asked not without some legitimate concern. Hermione's parents had known beforehand that she was going to Obliviate them for their own protection and send them to Australia. She would never have considered doing it without their consent. But she had not told them the complete reason why it was necessary to do so the previous summer, and since their return her recounting of their escapades had been slow in coming. But Hermione could not always hide the signs of a poor night's sleep from her parents, so they knew that she had experience some unknown horrors during the past year.

"Yes, I did. I feel very refreshed and energetic today. Hopefully my Hogwarts letter will arrive today and I can go get my supplies in Diagon Alley," she replied while helping herself to scrambled eggs, rashers, and toast. She then poured a tall glass of orange juice before tucking into her meal.

"Well, look lively, darling. I see a couple of owls headed this way," her mother said as she looked out the window.

"Two owls? I'm not expecting an owl from Harry, Ginny, or Ron. Unless Ginny decided to do Diagon Alley today, but I could have swore she said her family was planning on taking a short vacation to get away from reminders of Fred for a little while." George especially had been having a hard time, not that anyone can blame him. And Harry was trying to stay out of the public eye whenever possible, at least until his Auror training started. The poor guy couldn't even step foot outside Grimmauld Place without being assaulted by reporters and worshipping fans alike.

She stood to open the window and gave each owl a piece of bacon as she retrieved their missives. She immediately recognized that one missive was indeed from Hogwarts and quickly opened it and scanned the contents.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_I am delighted to welcome you back for your final year of Hogwarts. I know how eager you must be to complete your N.E.W.T.S._

_As per usual, the school year will commence on September 1__st__. Please be at King's Cross Station to catch the Hogwarts Express no later than 11 o'clock in the morning. Students must be in their school robes upon arrival._

_Please see the attached list of require books this year. You will note the addition of a new class: Wizarding Culture. This class is mandatory for all Muggleborn and Halfblood students who have not been raised in the Wizarding world, while Muggle Studies is mandatory for all Halfblood and Pureblood students who were raised in the Wizarding world this year. In the future, both of these courses will be mandatory for all First and Second Year students, regardless of heritage._

_Enjoy the rest of your summer._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"Well that's unusual. Professor McGonagall didn't mention a thing about who the Head Boy and Head Girl will be this year." Hermione couldn't help but feel a little let down and put out. She had been working toward that title her whole time at Hogwarts, when she wasn't helping Harry against Voldemort.

Her mother took the parchment from her and read it through. "I'm sure the Headmistress has a very good reason for not saying something. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you are technically and Eighth Year student instead of a traditional Seventh Year student," she said encouragingly. She reached over and rubbed Hermione's arm. "Regardless of the outcome, always know that your father and I are very proud of you, Hermione."

"Thanks, Mum. Well, my supplies should be easy to get. Most of my texts are the same as Sixth Year. It's only Defense that is different, although that isn't unusual. There's a text for a new mandatory course that I've never heard of, but I doubt it will be difficult to handle with my N.E.W.T. courses. Wizarding Culture. It sounds like it will probably be a survey class for people who know nothing about the Wizarding world. Sort of like the opposite of Muggle Studies. Other than that, it's just my robes, parchment, ink and quills, and some potions ingredients," Hermione stated. "I think I'll just nip over there this afternoon for my supplies. It shouldn't take more than an hour."

"That's fine, darling. What was your other message about?" her mother inquired.

"Hmm? Oh, I'd completely forgotten about it," Hermione exclaimed, feeling silly. She looked at the seal on the scroll, not recognizing it, then opened it.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_I would like to cordially invite you to luncheon on Tuesday at 1 o'clock. I realize that this must seem completely unexpected to you since we have never communicated outside of coursework, however, it would mean so much to me._

_You see, due to my father's recent incarceration I have taken over headship of my family. In the process of going over my father's business papers, I came across a diary of my mother's that contains a mystery. I believe strongly that you can help me solve this mystery._

_If you are amenable, I can send you a portkey that will deliver you to my home._

_I await your reply._

_Sincerely, _

_Theodore Nott_

Hermione was flabbergasted. She didn't know what to think. Nott was right about one thing: this was entirely unexpected. She had to admit to herself, though, that she was intrigued by his request. A mystery that required her help? How could she possibly help a Pureblood out with a family mystery? Unless it required research. But that didn't make much sense because Hermione knew that Nott was just as intelligent as she was, although perhaps not so much of a bookworm. He was quiet in the classes they shared, but his grades were always close to hers if not better on occasion. Surely he could do any research necessary to solving this mystery.

She thought about declining. Nott was a Slytherin. What if this was just a ruse for something nefarious? And yet, she recalled that Nott had never really joined in with his housemates when it came to mercilessly teasing, taunting, and bullying others. He was very much a loner.

Before she could muse on the subject any longer, her mother broke in.

"Hermione? Is something wrong, darling?" she asked concerned.

"No, nothing is wrong, Mum. I was just thinking. It's an invitation from a classmate to lunch on Tuesday, but we've never said to words to each other outside of class, so I'm not sure what to make of his motivation."

"I see. May I read it?" her mother asked.

"Sure," Hermione said, handing it over.

Her mother quickly read the short invitation.

"Well the invitation is certainly benign. I don't know the young man, of course. I think you're just going to have to trust your own judgement. Do you think he's sincere or lying about his intentions? Do you think he would hurt you?" she asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, not intentionally. He never joined in with the others who were trying to hurt me. I suppose I will go. I have to admit that I'm curious about this mystery that I can help with."

She grabbed a quill, turned the parchment over, and wrote a quick reply, before rolling it back up and returning it to the waiting owl's leg. Without hesitating, the owl took off again to deliver its message.

She turned back to her mother. "Well, I think I'm going to go relax with a book outside until lunch," she told her mother, before giving her a kiss in thanks for breakfast and heading up to her room for a book.

**Author's****Note:**

I want to thank everyone for favoriting and following my story. It means a lot to me to see all this encouragement coming my way. I cannot promise regular updates. Right now I am motivated, but I am pregnant with Baby #3 and it's been a more difficult pregnancy than I anticipated. Between that and being a mommy to 2 preschoolers and working, it may take me a while between updates. But please, keep reading and reviewing. It tells me people want to read my story and that it's worth putting in the effort.

Thank you again.


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